Now this is the story all about how...

...My life got flipped, turned upside down And I'd like to take a minute just sit right there I'll tell you how I became the recipient of a liver from a hero named Joey. ;)

Hi all! My name is Jamie. I was an extremely lucky recipient of a liver from a organ donor on March 7, 2016.

All my life I had been relatively healthy, besides being overweight, however I noticed my eyes and hands had a yellow-ish tint to them. I figured it would just go away on it's own, but after a month it had actually gotten worse. My brother drove me to the ER at Virtua Voorhees on February 1st, where I was eventually admitted. The doctors there weren't quite sure what was wrong with me, but recommended a doctor at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

After a short fight with my insurance company, I was transferred to HUP on February 8th. When I first got to HUP, I had a MELD score of 17 which increasingly got worse. I am told that I was up to 54 by time I got my liver, and would have only lived a couple more days. I was diagnosed with auto-immune hepatitis. I received my liver after 4 weeks in the hospital, and just 5 short days after being listed, on March 7th.

Due to fluid overload, I ended up in acute kidney failure. On June 1, 2016, I was labeled to have End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), however, I am EXTREMELY excited to announce that I have been able to discontinue dialysis as of March 29, 2017.

I have had no setbacks, minus a large incisional hernia, which I still deal with daily.

I have created this team, Liver la Vida Loca, so that my family and friends are able to raise awareness for organ donation.